The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

So we are told we will have a National Development Plan - I immediately wonder who is qualified will draft this? Ministry of Investment says: The People!

The constant repetitiveness of the word - Entrepreneur begs the obvious - do those who use the word know what that entails or do they use the word because they think by using it they make any sense and they sound a little sensible?

This is a key issue to understand in our Free Market system: if you do not have cash or some security, a home, some acreage forget your dream.

So say in a year the PLP win roll-out a National Development plan - I ask the obvious will it be “policy” or supported in legislation? If policy then it, the Plan, is not worth one single word written on the front page as “policy” has no validity in Bahamian law.

If it is in legislation, then there is a realisation that with a change of Government all of the above can be amended and changed or simply gotten rid of.

We hear government has already received numerous proposals - if they are from the chronic Talk Show callers God help us as the majority have no economic background, business experience and float concepts which politely are useless.

If The Bahamas is going to wean itself off the mother’s milk of Foreign Direct Investment then government has to come up with a concept of alternative funding no more or less.

We invest in a home – consumer items that probably many have no need for – going on vacations (shame on the lending institution that do this, but they do)… few have moneys which could be used for alternative investment and new home-grown job creation that’s the reality, not what we hear from the MPs in government - their talk, comments are delusional to the extreme, and, incredibly they know it.

Ministers might fly all over the globe and come back and give a press conference and infer much and promises of things to come but since 2012 nothing has been achieved except the boys have seen the world.

Was it Dubai - Emirates - South America - Singapore - Hong Kong probably missed a number of places, but naught cameth from this seemingly waste of public money. They pray we forget.

Can’t miss commenting on the latest Stronger Bahamas programme – right after 2012 election tourism cancelled all the foreign marketing and PR Consultant contracts – two years later OPM contracts with a Canadian PR firm to produce a political web site – well blow me down!

Clearly the Prime Minister, none of Cabinet listened to the audio of the advertisements as the audio totally contradicts what they are trying to say.

There is no safety in Nassau and probably Freeport at this immediate time – blood flows through our streets every night – we are faced with the probability of 170 murders by December 31, 2015 and the PLP is proud to say or suggest what it says in Stronger Bahamas?

Over $1m worth of marijuana found last week in Andros – you really believe that was the sole plantation or harvest? Be naïve and think we are winning.

Get in a conversation with anyone and they will rattle off where so much illegal activity is going on and guess what – nothing done.

Getting back to the Development Plan – so since election 2012 the Christie Government has approved how many projects? Hold your breath because you have to really think they are so few that it causes me to ask what does the Consultants supposed to be trying to get investment to do all day? It can’t be there are no investors with money?

Bahamians first - Stronger Bahamas, slogan after slogan to con the public but Election 2017 brings a majority of more educated voters, hopefully they will register en masse, and out vote the dinosaur Party loyalists as we will go nowhere with them.

One popular Talk Radio Host said he will discuss Cabinet Shuffle next week… hmm shuffle to where is my response? The issue is if as a Minister you failed in Ministry ‘A’ you have to be fired not placed somewhere else to screw up again. We only need eight-nine Ministers anyway we should not be paying for the MPs who are basically being employed to keep them employed... millions would be saved if that happened.

There is considerable fear in the hearts of thousands of Bahamians – what is the future? Can we survive with what we have become used to? 47,000 receive food daily that is over 17 million meals a year and we say t‘ings okay?

VAT - great revenue up but can the Controller of Customs confirm that Customs Revenue since January 1, 2015 has not decreased? This is a key issue - government was warned there could be commercial contraction. Business people say by as much as 30 per cent.

Oh, well, as we come closer to July 10th we are unable to fly a legitimate correct coloured flag over our Bahamaland as the official supplier took delivery of ‘ooo’s and where the all-important turquoise blue was is now blue.....everything going backwards, and dem folk in parliament talk and talk and talk nonsense – we need a National Plan for who?

Maybe the politicians to make them totally redundant.

MARCIA HIGGINS

Nassau,

June 13, 2015.